It’s that time of the year again when the mercury constantly dips to the 25 to 28 degrees range, cheery Christmas tunes are pumped out of stereo speakers in shopping centres, carollers come out in full force, neon decorative lights line the streets of Orchard Road, and you’re sweating over what gifts of appreciation you can buy for your loved ones.

UrbanWire helps you scout out a few places where you’ll be able to find the right presents with ease, and at the same time, show Santa that you’ve been good by contributing to social causes.

To many of them, the concept of sound is understood differently, and this slang taught them a new, fun side of the spoken language that we usually take for granted. So amused by this slang they were, that ‘I lub you’ was printed into greeting cards ($2 each; $5 for 3) to sell at their booth in PaTH (Pop and Talent Hub).

Folded and printed with images of hands in various poses, these cards teach sign language by making use of the flipping motion of paper when unfolding it. The creative execution of this card shows the motion made with your hands when signing the given word, and demonstrates a hearing impaired person’s interesting perception of sound.

PaTH is a social enterprise that provides the marginalised artistic talents a platform to showcase and sell their arts. Commission collected is 20% of the artists’ earnings – if you don’t manage to sell anything, you don’t need to pay anything. Going a step further, workshops are also organised to coach these artists the way of businesses, and give them advice for business sustainability; truly aiming to help these artists gain self-reliance.

Bookmarks made from Chinese paintings ($9.90) are also available at the DHHFS pushcart, as well as hand-painted clay crafts ($4.50) which you can request for a name to be painted on for free.

Sign language for ‘I love you’ also appears as the design for these magnets ($6), one of the more popular items at their stand.

Another vendor at PaTH is Sereen Cheng, 44, who sells pretty little beaded accessories and decorations handmade by her mother and her.

A burst blood vessel led to the paralysm of the left side of Sereen’s body when she was just a fresh ‘O’ Level graduate. Now 44, the vivacious woman has worked in stapler factories, given tuition, clerical jobs, and currently has a stall in PaTH, fuelled by her felt responsibility as the only child, and the need for an income to support her widowed mother.

Having a passion for the arts since young, Sereen has tried to sell her paintings in other places, but she was unable to afford the high rental prices. The launch of PaTH presented her a new opportunity to sell her works.

Friends of the Disabled Society is a non-profit organisation that coordinates social interaction programmes for the disabled, and as they are heavily dependent on donations by well-wishers, PaTH is an affordable venue where they can sell the crafts made by the disabled.

Beaded bookmarks are the most popular items at their stall; one customer even ordered 100 of these for Christmas last year!

A business with an aim to aid the less fortunate in Singapore and around the world, Gift and Take sells, well, gifts made by landmine victims in Cambodia, disadvantaged mothers in Singapore, and disabled in Vietnam, just to name a few.

I have Owl City’s “Vanilla Twilight” running through my brains and quite honestly, I couldn’t help but feel that the stars are leaning down to kiss me.

VivoCity celebrated its third year anniversary on Dec 2 with, quite literally, a bang, especially with fireworks choreographed by Korean pyrotechnics maestro FUEGO21. The sky lit up for a full 7 minutes of a magical show and shoppers stopped to stare and marvel at the fireworks display.

(Photos by Lim Zhee Yen)

Samantha Row, financial planner, 37, has been to the shopping mall in the past 3 years for the fireworks alone. She said, “For me, this is one of the few amazing moments where family could come together, have a nice dinner and be enthralled by the beautiful fireworks.”

“My husband and I plan our schedules together with the kids to spend some quality time every Dec 2.”

Her thoughts were echoed by Jason Lim, store supervisor, 44, who came with his wife. “My kids are all grown up so they (are) hardly home. This gives me a chance to spend more time with my wife and it has become a tradition for us.”

Also, look out for VivoCity’s Christmas tree in their Sky Park. Standing tall at 103 feet (3139cm), the decadent tree dripping with pretty baubles is the tallest Christmas tree in Singapore.

But that isn’t all. Young shoppers had fun during the Christmas programmes lined up for them. Events such as the Disney Classical Christmas meet and greet with Mickey and friends had mothers rearranging their schedules and little ones squealing from delight.

Maisarah, 9, was so excited with her opportunity to meet Mickey that she begged her mother to take a day off work so that she could accompany her and her sister, Nadiah, 5, to the event.

The 2 girls not only managed to take photos with their favourite Disney characters, but also managed to attend the Princess Party where girls from ages 4 to 10 received a chance to dress up as their favourite Disney princess.

These expensive delicacies are definitely not what you’d expect to find in your average sandwich bar. And with cuisine from the Land of the Rising Sun gaining popularity, Kimochi, located in VivoCity, offers a Japanese twist to your typical sandwich.

Within the jungle of sushi and kushiyaki restaurants in VivoCity, this quiet deli appears to stand out as a different sort of eatery for Japanese cuisine junkies – which is exactly what Matthew Loh, owner of Kimochi, wishes to achieve. Although he has another Japanese restaurant, Kushi Dining Bar, Kimochi was born from a want to differentiate themselves from the other Japanese restaurants.

The café has a contemporary design, with a spanking clean white interior. As you walk in, you’ll be greeted with a glass display of fresh vegetables and bread. Place your order at the counter, settle yourself comfortably at your seat, and your food will be served by the friendly waitress around 5 minutes later.

Every sandwich comes sitting on a flat plate held together by a long toothpick with sauce dish-sized sides of Japanese seasoned baby octopus, salad, plus a bowl of soup.

(Photo from Kimochi)

A new addition as a side is coloured sushi, a new product of Kimochi. 7 colours are available, with each made from different vegetables like tomatoes and mushrooms, consisting of a different health benefit, for example, lowering cholesterol and aiding weight loss.

From a list of around 20 salads and sandwiches to choose from, you can be sure you’ll be able to find something of your liking here. Choose from any of 3 kinds of bread: focaccia, ciabatta, and white bread.

Expectations of this all-time favourite climb higher and higher, but Kimochi’s mushroom soup would definitely satisfy picky taste buds. Served with light, crisp croutons and (surprise!) grated cheese on top, the mushroom soup has the right thickness and colour – not too creamy to make you feel like you’ve just drank a bowl of milk, and not too watery to make you feel like you’ve been cheated with a diluted version.

Stir in the mozarella on top and voila! A spoonful of sliced mushroom, flavourful soup, complete with tempting cheese-strands that you’d have thought you could only find on pizzas.

The serving of this salad is big enough for women with smaller appetites to wave the white flag before they’re done with the bowl, so share it with a friend or two if you still want to try the sandwiches.

Sandwiches

Chicken Katsu Sandwich ($7.80):

The chicken katsu is the Japanese version of the chicken cutlet, and is breaded in Panko breadcrumbs (made from bread without crusts, making it lighter than Western versions). This Chicken Katsu sandwich hits the spot with a light, crisp coating around the juicy chicken, covered with mayonnaise and prawn roe. Iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers complete the delectable combination.

Unagi Sandwich ($9.80):

If you’re one of us in the WLUC (We-Love-Unagi Club), you’ll definitely love this.

Unagi (Japanese eel) lovers know that no matter how nicely marinated and grilled an unagi is, if it isn’t carefully prepared, instead of a smooth, sweet eel, you’ll find your throat chocked up with irritating cartilages.

No worries with this Unagi Sandwich, though. Its fine bones allow for easy swallowing – your gullet is safe. Add a dollop of homemade mayo + prawn roe and you have a scrumptious meal.

100% Wagyu Beef Sandwich ($19.80):

If there wasn’t a “100% Wagyu Beef” label, we’d think it was meat from any old cow.

The beef patty had a nice pink tinge in the centre, and the beef patty scored an average in juicy standards, but oomph-wise, it was lacking. 2 slices of cheese and a few strips of bacon were thrown into the mix, but all they did was make the dish saltier.

Still, anyone looking for a simple sandwich with an unadorned beef taste would be more than happy to tuck into this item.

Dessert

Green Tea Cheese Cake ($8.80):

Japanese versions of Western dishes are usually lighter, so if you were expecting a New York cheesecake taste-alike, think again.

Thankfully, however, this dessert is not Mars-bars-sweet, and leaves a gentle green tea aroma in your mouth. It tastes more like Matcha mousse with a tiny hint of cheese, but one can never have too much of the green-tea-and-red-bean pairing in desserts.

A direct translation of ‘kimochi’ in the Japanese language would mean ‘feeling(s)’. And the feeling that Kimochi wants to convey is the sincerity of their food that’s “made from the heart”. Make your way down to this peaceful café and have some sandwiches made with sincerity.

Address: 1 Harbour Front Walk, #01-163 VivoCity

Tel: +65 6376 8380

Opening hours: Daily, 10am – 10pm

Kimochi is GST-free, but all prices listed on the menu don’t include service charge.

Singapore Design Festival will take place from Nov 20 all over Singapore, including ION Orchard, Suntec City and VivoCity. UrbanWire picks out some of the events that captured our attention.

Anime Festival Asia

By popular demand, Anime Festival Asia is back this year from Nov 21 – 22 at Suntec Convention and Exhibition Halls 403 – 404, promising to be even bigger than the first with many new installations. Look out for the huge music concert ‘I Love Anisong’ featuring Mizuki Ichirou, known as Japan’s King of Anime Songs, and May’n, most recognised as the singing voice of Sheryl Nome in anime Macross Frontier. Both Mizuki and May’n were well received last year and are returning for a second time. Pocket Monsters (Pokémon) fans can also look forward to the appearance of Nakagawa Shoko, or more affectionately known as Shokotan, who lent her vocals to the 12th Pokémon movie, Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life, which opened in Japan on Jul 18 and the English version premiering on Cartoon Network this Friday.

If you’re a lover of anime, you’d likely be a fan of cosplay [short for costume roleplay] as well. An event not to be missed would be the first ever Regional Cosplay Championship. Each Southeast Asian country will send their top team to compete, and the winner will be chosen from a panel of judges from Japan. One of the judges will be famous cosplayer Kaname☆, who’s noted for dressing up as lead character Cloud Strife from computer animated film Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, and protagonist Kurosaki Ichigo of comic series Bleach.

Small Thoughts, Big Ideas

Held at the foyer of The Arts House from Nov 20 – 29, Small Thoughts, Big Ideas showcases simple masterpieces completed by 15 non-professional designers. They may be white-collared workers in various industries ranging from electronics to automotive to sports to furniture, and originating from different parts of Asia.

Acoustic Robot by Tan Lun Cheak, the audio system that aims to become your consultant for music enjoyment

Animal lovers should look out for The Rocking by Leonard Tan Bahroocha, whose designs include furniture based on ponies and elephants.

President’s Design Award Ceremony and Exhibition

This prestigious event, the main one at ION Orchard, gives due recognition to the best designers and their works. The credits were given based on public nomination, and then evaluation by a panel of international judges. The Award commends these creative Singaporeans and their “exceptional designs that are truly innovative, and have pushed the envelope to create a significant difference to the community… that improves the quality of life, enhanced human potential and national competitiveness”. An exhibition of winning entries will be held from Nov 20 – 30 at Level 4, Atrium.

IN AN ABSOLUT WORLD

A familiar vodka brand asked 5 local “artistic and visionary thinkers” to come up with their own interpretation of the theme “IN AN ABSOLUT WORLD, Doing Things Differently Leads to Something Exceptional” and formulate a relevant word art design. The works will be displayed in an exhibition at ION Orchard, Level 1 Atrium from Nov 20 to 30. Managing Director of Pernod Ricard Singapore, Paul-Robert Bouhier, and a representative from DesignSingapore, will choose the winner who will take home $10,000 in cash and be given the chance to design a special collectible for ABSOLUT.

If you love the lower-end ‘trendified’ version of British India, River Island is just the thing for you. With a mix of bold and neon colours, River Island is very interesting.

Showcasing their women’s and men’s Spring/Summer 2009 collection, River Island definitely makes an impact on the younger generation with their interesting colour palette.

Some may label Electric Blue, Shocking Yellow, Neon Pink and Fruity Orange as tacky colours. But, River Island proves otherwise. In fact, if mixed and matched properly, it adds just the right amount of zest needed to rejuvenate your look.

The collection is very youthful with gorgeous short dresses and unique printed leggings. We all know that leggings are back, but River Island takes the trend a step further with uniquely patterned leggings. (Somewhat inspired by Harajuku style, perhaps?)

The men’s collection also brings something new to the table. It was a different approach to men’s fashion, totally different from the classic tailored wear. Showcasing electric blue cardigans, neon pink shirts and accessories, River Island showcases a look you could only either love or hate.

So, if you’re interested in the River Island contemporary street style, Head down to VivoCity, #01-41/42.